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D'Arcy backs swim head coach Nugent

Controversial inclusion Nick D'Arcy has staunchly defended head coach Leigh Nugent and says Australian swimming team members should take responsibility for their own disappointing London Olympic performances.

D'Arcy on Wednesday described some findings of the independent review of the London Games campaign as "inflammatory" and was adamant the team was given the structure by coaching staff they needed to succeed.

The Bluestone Review released on Tuesday was highly critical of the Games swim team leadership.

And it found further indications of failure of leadership and team culture when falling morale was not adequately addressed as the campaign failed to produce the results anticipated.

However D'Arcy was quick to put his hand up over his own "disappointing" swim and he suggested teammates needed to do likewise.

"Some of things outlined (in the review) there were designed to be inflammatory more than anything else," Darcy told Southern Cross Austereo on Wednesday.

"I think we're just trying to look for excuses and trying to pass the buck.

"I certainly didn't perform the way I would have liked to," added D'Arcy, who finished 13th out of 16 swimmers in the 200m butterfly semi-finals.

"I take full personal responsibility for that.

"Leigh Nugent did a wonderful job. He was always there to support and offer guidance to athletes.

"He did his best to put together training programs and keep them fairly flexible.

"I think that the framework was there for us. We just didn't come through on the day."

D'Arcy said he didn't see any swimmers drinking on a level that would have affected their performance leading up to the Games, nor was he aware of a problem with prescription drugs.

"But to say that there was no problem (with prescription drugs), I think is a fairly broad statement that I'm not qualified to make," he said.

Regarding the review's reference to bullying, D'Arcy said behaviour on the team had been consistent with what he'd experienced at previous Games.

"When you get that number of boys together, you are going to have that little bit of friction especially in that sport - they're all kind of alpha males and those kinds of strong personalities.

"So you're going to get a little bit of friction and it's the same on every team I've been on since I was 19.

"There's always been a difference of opinion and you have people trying to come on top of other people but to say that that's new and to say that's the reason why we didn't perform, I think is very misguiding."

D'Arcy was forced to leave the Games village after the completion of swimming events on August 4.

That disciplinary action had been imposed by the Australian Olympic Committee as a result of a photo posted on Facebook which showed D'Arcy and fellow swimmer Kenrick Monk holding firearms while training in the US.

D'Arcy was selected on the Games team despite declaring bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $180,000 in damages to former swimmer Simon Cowley over a 2008 assault.

He was thrown off the team for the Beijing Games because of that incident.